July 2016 Reading List.

I did a lot of reading this month. It was partially because I broke my TV (oops), but still… reading just feeds my soul. There are months where I really invest in myself with what I’m reading. Books that will help me learn more about myself, books that will help me to grow my business… historical non-fiction, classic literature. That was not the case this month. This month was all about great beach reads and YA. And it was glorious.

First was Emily Giffin’s First Comes Love. I should note that Emily Giffin has been one of my favorite authors for as long as I can remember. I devoured Something Borrowed and Something Blue and subsequently read every single one of her other books. It had been a little while since her last book so I was very excited to get my paws on this. I read it in a matter of two days. If you have sisters then you understand the complicated bonds between siblings. She hit the nail on the head with this one. I really, really loved it.

The Singles Game, by Lauren Weisberger (author of The Devil Wears Prada) is such a fun read. Lauren Weisberger is another one of my favorite authors in that I’ve read everything she’s written and usually read her books in under a day or two. I devoured this one in all of two days. This one detailed an up & coming tennis star’s rise to fame (and all the complicated stuff that comes with it). It’s a light, fun read.

The Husband’s Secret was recommended to me by some of you (thank you!!) and I loved it. This also deals with the bonds of family. It kept me on my toes and guessing the whole time. This was my first time reading one of Leane Moriarty’s books so now I’ve ordered Big Little Lies, next!

Red Rising is OMGERRRRD my latest YA obsession. It was recommended to me by one of my friends while at a wedding in Hawaii this past September. I ordered it on the spot per her instructions. But my book pile was so high that I only just got to it now. So good. So, so very good. I am reading the second book (Golden Sun) in the trilogy to read while at home this week, and the third book is waiting for me when I get home to New York.

Beautiful Ruins is a book that I randomly re-read this month because I liked it so much last time around. You can read my original thoughts on it here. It’s just so beautifully written. Few books manage to be a feast for a senses (the way that a movie can) but this one does it because of the author’s incredible attention to detail.

Last but not least (and the only book on this list that I did not actually read this month); Valley of the Dolls was just re-released for it’s 50th Anniversary. While I never read it the first time around, I am so excited to sit down and read the new edition. That will be my classic, this time around.

Can’t wait to hear what you think of Big Little Lies! I loved it even more that The Husband’s Secret. I’ve actually never read any of Emily’s books, but your little bit about sisters has me intrigued 🙂 I’ve got three of them!

Some of these are old but just in case you haven’t read them! The Night Circus, City of Thieves, Fates and Furies (the second half of the book makes it all worth it!), The Accidental Empress, Station Eleven, All the light we cannot see, All Fall Down, Afterwards, Reconstructing Amelia, The Goldfinch, The Engagements, The Light Between Oceans, My Berlin Kitchen, Where’d You Go Bernadette. Happy reading!

I just finished Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (she also wrote The Vacationers if you read that). I loved it. Beautiful Ruins is one of my favorite books. Doesn’t it make you want to take a fabulous Italian vacation?!

Thanks for the recommendations! I just read Big Little Lies earlier in year, and loved it! I immediately downloaded What Alice Forgot, and now I’ll have to add The Husband’s secret to the list. I aslo just saw she’s coming out with a new book in July. A couple good books I read recently were Eligible and The Nest.

I’m a slacker when it comes to commenting but I can’t resist talking books. I recommend (notice the theme, I’m kind of into page turning thriller/mystery books like The Luckiest Girl in the World, etc):

Night Film by Marisha Pessl (who also write Special Topics in Calamity Physics…another good one and it’s not about physics, I promise!)
-Thriller/Mystery about the death of a daughter of a reclusive horror movie director who films all his movies on his large compound in upstate NY

We Were Liars by E. Sinclair (YA, just found that out on Amazon!)
-Family dynamics/mystery of a family who owns their own island and summers there on the E Coast as seen by the outsider (one of the daughters’ college roommates invited for the summer)

Any book by Tana French:
In the Woods
The Secret Place
The Likeness
Faithful Place
-Dark murder mystery/thrillers + Irish detectives, really addictive and well-written.

What a coincidence.. I just bought Valley of the Dolls the other day! Excited to read it (even if the reason it caught my eye was the hot pink pages!). I bought First Comes Love as well. Great choices!